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Crown may seek dangerous offender status for 2015 Christmas Day stabber

Psychiatric assessment being done of man sentenced In November 2017 to seven years for manslaughter
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Crown prosecutors could seek to have a man convicted of a violent 2015 Christmas Day fatal stabbing declared a dangerous or a long-term offender.

A psychological assessment of Chad Alexander Kulba has been done by a psychiatrist but a report has not yet been completed, said Crown prosecutor Ed Ring in Red Deer provincial court Monday.

Crown prosecutors are waiting for the results of the assessment to determine whether to go ahead on applying for long-term offender or dangerous offender status and, if so, which should apply. Approval from the Alberta Attorney General is also required to go ahead.

In Monday’s court appearance, Ring requested a 30-day extension so the psychiatrist can complete his report, which was granted by Judge Bruce Fraser. Kulba is being held at the Edmonton Remand Centre and was not in court.

Red Deer’s Kulba pleaded guilty to manslaughter in September 2017. The then-35-year-old was sentenced to seven years in prison last November. Counting time already served, he had just over four years left to serve.

At sentencing, the court heard that Thomas Braconnier, 46, had shown up uninvited to Kulba’s downtown apartment in the early hours of Christmas Day. Braconnier had a knife in his belt and when he raised his arm Kulba stabbed him.

Injured, Braconnier tried to flee but Kulba, who was heavily intoxicated on a mix of alcohol, crystal meth and prescription drugs, chased him down the stairs. Kulba stabbed Braconnier about 30 times, at one point using a broken-off golf club shaft.

Kulba was arrested at the scene after struggling with police and was later charged with second-degree murder. He was about to go to trial on that charge when he pleaded guilty to the lesser offence.

It is rare, but Crown prosecutors can apply to a sentencing judge to have a criminal either a dangerous or a long-term offender when there is evidence of high risk of further serious violence.

To determine someone is a dangerous offender, a judge must be convinced by psychiatric testimony or other evidence that the convicted person is likely to engage in further violent conduct.

A long-term offender is someone whom the judge is convinced is of substantial risk to reoffend but there is also a reasonable possibility that person can be controlled in the community.

In both cases, a judge can order an indeterminate prison sentence, a set prison sentence or a sentence with a long-term supervision order. In the case of a long-term offender, the long-term supervision order cannot exceed 10 years.

Kulba’s lawyer George Lebessis opposed the 30-day extension granted for the report, arguing it should have been completed within the 60-day period granted for a psychiatric assessment. The judge disagreed, saying that after the assessment another 30 days is allowed by law to prepare the report. His decision extended that preparation time to 60 days.



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